Glencore shares slide after Rio Tinto merger unravels
Shares in Glencore tumbled on Thursday after talks over a blockbuster merger between the firm and rival Rio Tinto came to nothing.
The London-listed mining giant said it was unhappy with the terms of Rio’s takeover offer, which included Rio keeping hold of top executive roles within the proposed combined business.
“The key terms of the potential offer were Rio Tinto retaining both the chairman and chief executive officer roles and delivering a proforma ownership of the combined company which, in our view, significantly undervalued Glencore’s underlying relative value contribution to the combined group, even before consideration of a suitable acquisition control premium,” Glencore said in a stock market statement.
“We concluded that the proposed acquisition on these terms is not in the best interests of Glencore shareholders.
“It does not reflect our view on long term, through the cycle relative value, including not adequately valuing our copper business, and its leading growth pipeline, and apportioning material synergy value potential.”
Glencore shares fell 8 per cent to 470p following the news. Rio shares slipped 1.9 per cent to 6,876p.
In its own statement, Rio said it “has determined that it could not reach an agreement that would deliver value to its shareholders.”
“Rio Tinto assessed the opportunity and came to this view through the disciplined lens set out at its Capital Markets Day in December 2025 – prioritising long-term value and delivering leading shareholder returns,” the FTSE 100 firm said.
Talks fizzle out
Glencore added that its “standalone investment case is strong” and that the company now has “an exceptional portfolio of copper projects, which provides a pathway from an already significant copper producer, to become one of the world’s largest producers over the next decade.”
The latest termination of takeover talks are the latest in a years-long on-and-off relationship on whether the two companies would combine. They were revived again last year after the arrival of current chief executive Simon Trott.
Glencore is understood to have been pushing for a higher premium as a condition of the deal, and was also unhappy over Rio’s insistence on its chair and chief executive staying in their current roles.
The cooling off of talks follows the merger approval of London-listed miner Anglo Resources and Teck resources late last year.